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17 May 2004 : Column 811W—continued

NHS Information Technology

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the end-user groups being consulted in the National Programme for Information Technology in the NHS. [171823R]

 
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Mr. Hutton: Consultation has taken place with clinical representative groups, including the professional Royal Colleges, the General Medical Council, the British Medical Council and the NHS Confederation, all of whom have provided valuable input. As well as the national professional bodies and groups, the national programme for information technology (NPfIT) team has engaged closely with expert primary care practitioners, including practising general practitioners, who are there to represent and feedback issues with their professional colleagues.

The national clinical advisory board (NCAB) has ensured that the wide-ranging clinical needs and requirements are reflected in the design of the NPfIT solutions and integrated into the ongoing plans of the programme. Their work covered a variety of care settings, from cancer care to out of hours care. Since the appointment of Aidan Halligan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, as joint senior responsible owner and director general for NPfIT, plans are in hand to improve and review the formal arrangements for engaging with key stakeholders across the national health service. This will include a frontline support academy and wider patient groups and an announcement will be made later in summer.

The NPfIT has to date hosted around 400 local events, engaging managers, clinicians, allied health professionals and IT staff. Over 21,000 individuals have been involved. A series of national and regional joint events with the NHS Confederation began on 10 May, aimed at speaking directly to the chief executives and board members who need to lead local implementation.

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the dates of (a) past and (b) planned future meetings of the clinical consultation group to the National Programme for Information Technology in the NHS are. [171824R]

Mr. Hutton: Previous meetings of the national clinical advisory board were held on:

   2 October 2003.

27 November 2003.

15 January 2004.

16 March 2004.

13 May 2004.

The Department issued a press notice on 30 April 2004 to outline the plans to continue and improve engagement with patient and national health service stakeholders in order to support the implementation of the national programme for information technology (NPfIT). This follows on from the appointment of Aidan Halligan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, as joint senior responsible owner and director general for NpfIT, who now has responsibility for leading on the preparations and planning for implementation across the NHS.

The first step has been to set up a new frontline support academy for clinicians. The formal arrangements for engaging with key groups are also being reviewed and an announcement will be made later in the summer.
 
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Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost is of training (a) clinical staff and (b) non-clinical staff to use the information systems developed by the National Programme for Information Technology in the NHS. [171826R]

Mr. Hutton: Training plans are still evolving as is to be expected when approaching a phased programme of implementation and roll out of new applications, systems and services. The training requirements are not solely related to the national programme for information technology in the national health service in England (NPfIT) as general IT skills are now an everyday element for any public service and service based organisation. The European computer driving licence is helping to improve general skills across the NHS. The move to e-learning and development and the NHS University will both create more demand for computer and online skills and provide more channels and solutions to bring training to people.

As we complete the more detailed plans for each geographical cluster and local service provider contract, we can map out the extent of IT support for clinical practice and patient care over the phased implementation of NPfIT. This will generate clearer training requirements and will enable us to consider the most appropriate ways of providing training and development and produce firmer costs.

NHS Staff

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for   Health how many NHS whole-time equivalent (a) doctors and (b) nurses there were in East Worthing and Shoreham in each of the last seven years. [169028]

 
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available for the area requested. However, the number of whole time equivalent doctors and nurses within Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority area, broken down by trust, has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS (a) doctors and (b) nurses there were in Wirral, South in each of the last seven years. [172685]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Nurse Training

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which years since 1997 applications for nurse training places from suitably qualified applicants have exceeded the number of places available; and if he will make a statement. [171822]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not available. Information on the number of applicants to   pre-registration nursing and midwifery training commissions and the number of training commissions available each year is shown in the tables.

The national health service recruitment campaign was launched on 1 March to raise the profile of careers in the NHS and encourage new entrants into training and the   Government is increasing the number of training places for nurses and midwives. Between 1997–98 and 2002–03, the number of pre-registration nursing and midwifery training commissions has increased by 6,417, or 39 per cent., with a further increase forecast in 2003–04.
Ratio of applicants to pre-registration nursing and midwifery training courses to nursing and midwifery training commissions in England each year Diploma⁽⁴²⁾

	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Applicants	18,732	32,405	34,953	40,908	33,864	29,689
Commissions	16,120	16,586	17,383	18,666	19,704	n/a

n/a = Not available.
⁽⁴²⁾ Applicant and commissions data are not directly comparable as the NMAS applications cycle runs for longer than the commissioning cycle, 1997–98 applicants data is therefore compared with 1998–99 commissions data and a direct ratio is not applicable
Source:
Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service Department of Health Quarterly Monitoring Reports Degree.




Degree

	1997–98	1998–89	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Applicants to commissions ratio	n/a	n/a	n/a	2.0	2.0	2.0
Applicants	n/a	n/a	n/a	5,357	6,126	6,541
Commissions	521	1,569	2,121	2,638	3,104	3,252

n/a = Not available.
Source:
University and Colleges Admission Service Department of Health Quarterly Monitoring Reports

Osteoporosis

Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of primary care trusts have a fully integrated falls and osteoporosis service as set out in the National Service Framework for Older People. [172548]

Dr. Ladyman: I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Diana Organ), on 11 May 2004, Official Report, column 319W.

Parliamentary Questions

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the question from the hon. Member for Westbury, reference 159700, tabled on 5 March, concerning Government information on dentist training numbers. [172174]

 
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Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 19 April 2004, Official Report, column 178W.

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